啄木鸟科zhuó-mù-niǎo kē

キツツキ科ki-tsutsuki ka

딱따구리과ttakdaguri-gwa

Họ Gõ kiến

General

Information is from dictionaries and other sources. Comments and corrections welcome. Hover over Green LetteringGreen lettering at this site hides a tool tip with glosses, further explanations, etc. Hover cursor to reveal. to see additional information.

The woodpeckers are known appropriately enough as 啄木zhuó-mù'peck-wood' (i.e. 'woodpecker') or 啄木鳥zhuó-mù-niǎo'peck-wood bird' ('woodpecking bird'). With their very distinctive woodpecking habit, woodpeckers have a range of popular and dialect names. These include 鑿木鳥záo-mù-niǎo'wood-drilling bird', 錛打木bēn-dǎ-mù'adze-strike-wood', 錛得兒木bēn-dér-mù'adze-get-wood', 錛啄兒鸟bēn-zhuór-niǎo'adze-peck bird', 打木dǎ-mù'strike-wood' and 噴打木pēn-dǎ-mù'jet-strike-wood' (where 'jet' refers to a sudden gushing action).

鴷liè is an older, more literary Chinese word for woodpecker, sometimes rendered as 裂'cut-to-pieces', probably a character usage based on folk etymology. This name is used in some other ornithological names, such as those of the barbets (Ramphastidae).

The Wryneck has a number of popular names referring to its distinctive neck or characteristic coloration.